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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Father Schwartz realize he must do in order to serve Rudolph?

2. Where is Father Schwartz at the start of Chapter 2?

3. What word is used to describe how Rudolph felt about telling Father Schwartz his true sins?

4. How does Rudolph describe to Father Schwartz the "phrases" he had used during his confession in Chapter 2?

5. Why did Rudolph's father tell him to go to confession three days before the narrative present?

Short Essay Questions

1. What object in Father Schwartz's room reminds him of "gruesome labyrinths" (1)? Why does he stare at this object in the first place?

2. What is Father Schwartz's mood at the start of the story? How do you know?

3. Who is Rudolph Miller? How does Father Schwartz behave when he first comes to his house in Chapter 1?

4. What questions does Father Schwartz ask Rudolph when he says he has committed a terrible sin?

5. Who is Blatchford Sarnmenington? What happens when Rudolph thinks of him?

6. What does Father Schwartz tell Rudolph he should have done when he was in the barn with the boy and the girl?

7. What plan does Rudolph come up with at the end of Chapter 2 to avoid having to take communion at church the next day?

8. What "easy sins" did Rudolph confess to Father Schwartz in Chapter 2?

9. What made Rudolph uncomfortable as he sat waiting to confess at the start of Chapter 2?

10. What does Father Schwartz do on Saturdays after confession? What happens as he passes the drug store that increases his sadness?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay comparing and contrasting Rudolph and Father Schwartz in "Absolution." What details help develop their character and what do these details tell you about them? What is their background? How do they know each other? How do they interact? In what ways are they similar or different? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

Examine Rudolph's eyes as symbolic in "Absolution."

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay examining the confessional as a symbol in "Absolution." In what scenes does the confessional appear? What is the context? How does this symbol develop the narrative?

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